


A Song for Freedom

by BoxOnTheNile



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Dalish is from clan Lavellan, Elvhen language out the ass, Flowers everywhere, I will add characters as I go, Multi, Revas is as much a romantic as Cass, all the nerds will be here, basically all the characters, magical headcanons, the tiniest elvhen mage
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-06
Updated: 2017-03-18
Packaged: 2018-04-08 00:16:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,679
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4283415
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoxOnTheNile/pseuds/BoxOnTheNile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Revas Lavellan just wanted to make sure the Templars weren't going to come after his clan. He didn't want this.</p><p>Also, The Iron Bull doesn't know everything about his men, magic is weird as shit, and the Herald sparks when he's nervous.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> So I fucking hate this have it.

The moment Revas sees the shems with their swords, he’s afraid, remembering his _mamae_ leading Templars from his clan before he had his _vallaslin_. The lightning storm of his mana rumbles, and it’s all he can do to keep electricity from sparking off the metal cuffs on his wrists. In and out, he thinks, he breathes, just like the Keeper taught you. His mana settles.

The door in front of him slams open and he yelps, nearly falling from his chair. There’s a shem woman with scars on her face and a sword on her belt, stalking forward with the fury of the storm Revas fights to control. She makes it her, and for a brief moment, Revas loves her. 

“Tell me why we shouldn’t kill you now,” she demands. “The Conclave is destroyed. Everyone who attended is dead. Except for you.” 

Dead? The elf tries to pull a response together from the loose threads of his thoughts. He had been listening to the mages and Templars at the conclave, made a few friends among them. Were they dead? And this Divine? Revas had begun to respect her.

He takes too long, because the woman’s face twists with rage. “Explain this.” She yanks Revas’s left hand to eye level. There’s… something, pulsing green with magic that isn’t his and it scares him, tears building in brown eyes.

“I- I don’t know, _Ir abelas_ , please-”

“You’re lying!”

“We need him, Cassandra.” Another woman steps forward, placing a hand on the first’s shoulder to still her. She turns to Revas. “Do you remember what happened?”

Revas starts to shake his head. but… “Running? Something was chasing me. And a woman?”

“A woman?” the second shem asks, and the first, Cassandra, sighs.

“Go to the forward camp, Leliana. I will take him to the rift.” 

Revas quickly dispels the static in the cuffs before Cassandra can touch them. Shems don’t like magic, took his mother because of her gift, and Revas doesn’t want this woman more angry at him. She replaces the metal with rope and guides him out.

The sky is torn. Revas cannot pull his eyes from the tear, even as his mana cries at its wrongness. The magic in his hand sings, though, drawn to this hole to the Beyond. “We call it the Breach,” Cassandra says next to him. “A massive rift to the world of demons that grows larger with each passing hour. It is not the only such rift, but it is the largest. All were formed by the explosion at the Conclave.” 

“You think I did it?” Revas is trembling, terrified. The spirits of Joy that lend themselves to his magic clamor for his attention, not liking their mage being afraid. Lightning crackles at his fingertips before he can reign in his mana again. He lifts his hands to scrub tears from his eyes.

Cassandra’s eyes soften a little. “How old are you, little mage?”

“Nineteen summers,” he says softly. “ _Emma nuvenin halani_. I want to help. _Mamae_ would have helped, so I will. If I can. Do you think I can?”

Cassandra nods. “Come with me.” And Revas follows, a silent shadow, even after she cuts his ropes, even when a bridge falls out from under them. 

He’s never fought demons before, but his lightning comes when called, as it always has. He casts a clumsy barrier- barriers are structured, and Revas’s mana has always been as free as his name- to protect Cassandra and lets the storm loose. His dark hair sticks up the way it always does when he casts without a staff and for a moment he feels free, lit up and glowing with magic. 

They press forward.  
✧✧✧

He steps lightly through the Chantry. ‘Herald of Andraste’ the shems whispered as he passed, and it frightens him. Oh Creators, what have I done? he thinks. He wants to run and run and not look back, but he said he would help, and the Breach still hangs in the sky. Cassandra and the Chantry shem are arguing and Revas is hesitant to open the door. 

But he does, and watches wide-eyed as Cassandra starts the Inquisition. Sylaise, but he wants to go home, and he says as much when Varric asks. The dwarf smiles and teaches him Wicked Grace. 

The Hinterlands are large and vast and Revas names the mare he rides “Ara.” His companions realize quickly that the Dalish is a genuinely cheerful person, chattering brightly and singing at birds and smiling easily. He asks questions of everyone, and Varric takes to calling him Bumblebee. He's busy, always moving, and Solas explains that it's normal for storm mages like Revas. 

And there is a reason mages like Revas are called storm mages. His face darkens when he sees the refugees, lightning twisting down his arms and staff. Templars and apostates both fall to his magic, and he sparks for a while afterward.

"Just angry," he tells Cassandra when she asks. "I'm a bad storm mage because the magic responds best to anger, and I'm not mad most the time. So when I am, the lightning wants out. It does the same when I'm scared." He smiles a little. "I don't hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it."  
✧✧✧

Revas hates Val Royuex and Orlaisians cries for a while after they leave. Vivienne tells him to keep his head high and teaches him a few ice spells. She’s much gentler than anyone would have thought, and her lessons help. 

He surprises Solas, the way Revas acts with Sera. She needles him about his _vallaslin_ , but he never once snaps at her, and answers her questions with patience. He treats her as an equal, not a “flat-ear”, and Solas remembers the storm mage defending him against Mihris’s insults in the Hinterlands.

After returning to Haven, Revas hurries off again, heading for the Storm Coast to meet a qunari mercenary, then back to the Hinterlands to find a Grey Warden. He looks at where he is and wonders what his mother would think.


	2. Mamae

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Storm Coast. Revas sees a familiar face. Bull does not know everything he thinks he knows; namely, why Dalish left her clan.
> 
> And, you know, that she's a mother.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually wrote this before the first chapter. I had the idea that Dalish was from clan Lavellan a couple weeks ago and this spawned.

The rain of the Storm Coast cleans the dust from the road off of Revas’s face and clothes. He throws his head back, mouth open to catch the drops on his tongue. 

“Careful, Bumblebee," Varric warns. "Don't want you falling off your horse."

"He won't let me fall," Revas grins, laughter crinkling the _vallaslin_ by his eyes. He pats the horse given to him by Master Dennet. "Virre is a good horse." The small mage stands in his stirrups. "I don't see Krem anywhere. Are we close? I've never seen a Qunari. _Hahren_ , is it safe to use my lightning here? It's so wet. I know some ice spells. Should I have Vivienne teach me more? She's good with ice."

"Revas," Solas interrupts. "As long as you hold them, lightning spells will be fine. You have a talent, use it."

"Okay, _hahren_." One of the elf's ears twitch. "I hear fighting." And he slides from the saddle and darts toward the beach, electricity already twining around his staff. He rounds a cliff and slams the staff to the ground, lightning leaping from the focus to strike humans in Tevinter clothing. Solas is a step behind him, waving his staff to cast a barrier over Cassandra.

Revas moves like the storm he draws power from so easily, every shift in his stance purposeful. He’s young, but Solas spoke the truth: the little Dalish is talented, a natural with the lightning sparking down his staff. 

When the last smuggler falls, Revas skims over those standing, checking for wounds, and he catches sight of white hair and green _vallaslin_.

" _Mamae_ ," he breathes and darts down the beach. " _Mamae_!" he screams, and the elf turns and mouths _'da'len.'_

And yes, it's her, Dahari Lavellan, Revas's mother, missing for six years now, and Revas plows into her with a sob. Her arms wrap around him.

"I thought you were dead," Revas sobs, "or taken. You didn't come back."

" _Ir abelas, vhenan_ ," she whispers. "I tried. But look at you." She trails her fingertips over his cheekbones. "Mythal? I would have thought Sylaise." Something clicks behind her eyes. "Revas, why are you here?" She fumbles for his wrist, pulls it up to see his hand. "Oh, no."

"Dalish?" someone with a deep, rumbling voice asks. "You know him?"

"My son, chief," and her eyes crease with worry. "My son." She presses her nose into his dark hair. 

" _Mamae_ ," Revas says. " _Mamae_ , are you one of the Chargers I was told about? Are they nice to you? I can take you with me if they're not. Or I can bring all of you." He turns, and his eyes widen. "Are you a qunari? Probably, you have horns and qunari have horns. I'm Revas. Or Herald. I like Revas better, it's my actual name. Did you help _Mamae_?"

"Slow down, kid," the qunari laughs. "I'm The Iron Bull. Dalish here is one of my Chargers, yeah. Shit, but you're tiny. Walk with me?"

The Bull is a spy, he says, and the warning Revas gives him takes the form of a lightning bolt striking the ground steps away. He passes the information to Cassandra, who threatens the Bull all over again. 

Then, Dalish tells a story of leading Templars away from her clan to protect her son, whose magic had just manifested, and how she couldn't find them again. 

"Well, Dalish," Varric says. "Bumblebee is a kid you can be proud of. Little shit. Real good with his lightning, too."

"I was the Keeper's First," the elf whispers. "Solas, _hahren,_ I need to write the Keeper. She needs to know I found _Mamae_."

They pick their way back to the Inquisition camp. Revas is flagged down almost immediately with news like "darkspawn" and "missing scouts" and "rifts."

He grew up without me, Dalish realizes, but he turns and grins and she remembers a gap toothed smile and a fistful of embrium and his tunic in a halla's mouth and thinks, I'm here now.


	3. In Hushed Whispers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Redcliffe. Magisters. The future.
> 
> Also, magic is fucking weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I.... have no excuse. Just... here.

Revas is practicing barriers with Blackwall when he asks, "Who do you think I should go to?"

Blackwall grunts as his shield is stopped by Revas's magic. "How do you mean? Romantically or-?"

"No, no," Revas interrupts, and Blackwall doesn't miss his glance towards Cassandra. "Like... Templars or mages. Everyone thinks differently about it. I wanna go to the mages, I trust them, but Cullen and Sera and Vivienne say Templars. I wanna know what you think.”

“I think there are children among the mages. I think Templars chose their path, but the mages had it forced on them. I think you’re sparking again.”

“Oops,” Revas laughs. “You’re right, though, but Cullen won’t listen to me and Sera is so scared of magic she won’t even touch _me_. Vivienne… I respect Vivienne, but she’s a Circle mage and I never was and I think she expects me to get possessed or something. Blood magic isn’t _bad_ , not really, only when you kill people. I did it once when shems came after some of the little ones in my clan. I didn’t have mana and I skinned my knee, so it was my blood. And don’t Templars use blood magic? That phyllactery I found in the Hinterlands was definitely magic and it had that woman’s blood.” He shakes his head and sits on the snow, letting his barrier fall. “Do you wanna come with me? To Redcliffe. I need to go meet with Fiona. I like her.”

“Yeah, I’ll come with you. Someone has to watch you until you get your barriers down. Who else will you bring?”

“Varric, I think. Solas? He’s good with barriers, and he’s teaching me healing stuff, which is good. Maybe Bull. I have a lot of questions about qunari and he calls me Boss. I need him to call me Revas. That is my name. Also I need to threaten him about Mamae some more.”

“How is your mother?” Blackwall settles next to the little elf and hands him his waterskin. “I heard you hadn’t seen her in years before running into her at the Storm Coast.”

“Good. Mamae prefers spirit magic, so we don’t practice much together. Vivienne ran into us teaching Solas Keeper magic yesterday. Said something about vines being undignified. I don’t think it is- Keeper magic takes a lot of patience and control and love. Mamae had a wisp following her last I saw, though, and it keeps putting leaves in her shoes, so I think she may change her mind.”

“You… are nowhere near the innocent Dalish sprout we think you are, are you?”

Revas shakes his head. “I don’t know why you think that. Just because I don’t get angry? I don’t like being angry. And I know I’m young, but I know things. I like fun as much as anyone else.” He frowns. “I’m not naive.” He smiles brightly at Blackwall. “ _Ma serannas_ , Blackwall, thank you for listening. It’s hard sometimes. No one knows how to act around me, but I just want someone to listen. I know we’re different, but we can still be friends, right, _lethallin_?”

“Of course,” Blackwall tells him gruffly. “When do we leave for Redcliffe?”

“Three days?”  
✧✧✧

Revas blinks as his eyes adjust to the dimness of The Gull and Lantern. There is something very wrong here, and he fights to keep from sparking. Why wouldn’t Fiona remember him? “ _Hahren_ , I don’t like this.” Solas nods his agreement, and Revas’s gut twists. Electricity sparks at his fingertips before he pulls it under control. Don’t show fear, his mother had told him before he left. You are the Herald for their god, do not let them think they can cow you.

He plays those words over and over in his head as he speaks with the Magister. There’s something about the human’s magic that makes Revas’s stomach churn, but he holds his mana in check. His hands shake as he opens the door to the Chantry, and he stops in his tracks. There’s a mage there already, fighting demons from a rift, and his magic flows and sings and Revas is struck breathless. The elf’s own mana surges forward, lashing out with the fury of a storm, and he’s drawn into a dance with this mage. When he finally closes the rift, the mage grins at him, and their mana sings together, Revas’s storm reaching for something equally wild in the other. 

“What’s going on?” someone asks, and Solas murmurs “compatible mana” in answer. Oh. Oh, Revas has heard of this happening. With exposure, this draw should fade, but right now…

He surges up to kiss this mage, and he responds, hands grasping Revas’s robes. The Dalish pulls back quickly. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean… I’m Revas. Hello. My mana likes yours. I’m sorry I kissed you.”

“Ah, yes, uh…” The mage takes a moment to gather his wits. “Dorian of house Pavus, recently of Minrathos.” He grins wickedly, magic crackling over his fingertips, and Revas kisses him again.  
✧✧✧

Before they go help the mages, Revas and Dorian have to acclimate to each other’s mana, so Haven quickly learns to ignore the sparring mages. It’s harder when they start kissing, but that happens less and less. After three days, it doesn’t happen at all, and the two are close friends.

It takes twenty minutes to talk Revas out of electrocuting the first soldier to accuse Dorian of sleeping his way into the Inquisition. The first to call him a malificar ends up explaining to the healers how he froze his dick to the chantry wall. 

Revas has gotten a lot better at ice spells.

He can only bring a small party to Redcliffe, so he picks Dorian and Cassandra and Varric. Cullen gives the Herald a pouch of magebane, "just in case," and though he thanks Cullen for it, he sets it on fire when the Commander isn't looking.

Revas flounces into Redcliffe castle like he owns it. "So, Ser Alexius, are you gonna kill me? Because you can try, but I don't think it's gonna work, and my new friend here wouldn’t like that." He's grinning almost madly. He hates this man, what he's done, what he's doing, and his magic reflects that rage. 

Reflects it so much that when the world rights itself after Alexius's spell, it's only Dorian's barrier that saves them from being fried from the force of the storm that explodes around them. The Venatori aren't so lucky. When the echoes of Revas's scream of fury die, he's panting and cursing and wiping angry tears from his cheeks. His sparking has upgraded to arcs of electricity across his skin and the water around him. Dorian holds the barrier.

He also keeps his mouth shut, because this tiny elf is the scariest storm mage Dorian has ever seen. 

They find Fiona, and Dorian reels in shock with what she tells them. A year. Alexius sent them forward a year. Revas quietly offers to end her pain. Dorian turns away, but feels the crackle of static as Revas's lightning stops her heart. 

The Venatori they run into after freeing Cassandra and Varric don't stand a chance.  
✧✧✧

Revas holds himself together spectacularly well as he speaks with King Alistair, but as soon as the human is gone, he clings to Cassandra and Varric and sobs. For a long time, all he can say is _ir abelas_. Dorian explains what happened, what they saw. He goes to leave, but Revas grabs his wrist and asks him to stay. 

For once, Dorian doesn't run.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ma serannas is thank you.
> 
> I didn't spell that right, I'm sure. Fuck.


	4. In Your Heart Shall Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Breach is closed, but Revas feels like something is wrong.
> 
> Why was he right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, this is the first chapter I'm actually okay with.
> 
> Also, it is the last of my buffer chapters. The one after this is only half-written. I should have is done by tomorrow, but updates may slow down after that.

Revas watches the people of Haven celebrate. He feels on edge, like something is wrong, eyes on the horizon. The Templars disappeared from Therinfal Redoubt, and that makes the elf nervous. He'll bring his concerns forward tomorrow; for now, his people deserve to celebrate.

His people. When did he start thinking of the Inquisition as his people? When did this ragtag group of elves, dwarves, humans, and qunari become as much his responsibility as his clan? The realization is jarring. 

The Breach is gone, though, closed. The heavens are scarred but calm, Solas had said. There is still work to do, however. Someone had killed the Divine, the Elder One is still missing, and the Venatori are out there. Not to mention the missing Templars.

And his thoughts come full circle.

"You aren't celebrating, _da'len_."

" _Mamae_. No, I’m not. Something feels wrong.”

Dahari Lavellan, also known as Dalish, sits next to her son. “ _Ma nehn_...”

“Something isn’t right. I don’t know what. It makes me nervous. _Ir hara, Mamae_. I’m afraid, and I don’t know why.” He looks at Dalish with wide brown eyes, her eyes, and she pulls him close. Static raises the hair on her arms as Revas sparks.

He pushes her away suddenly and jumps to his feet. "Something's coming, over the mountain." He points. " _Mamae_ , get ready for a fight." He snatches up his staff from where it sits next to him, gazes at Dalish worriedly, and runs for the gates.  
✧✧✧

"I can't come in unless you open!"

Revas throws a glance to Cullen before flinging himself at the gate, pushing the heavy wooden door with all his might. Someone in full armor lumbers forward two steps and falls, revealing a young man behind them. The boy skirts the corpse and moves to stand before Revas. "There's people coming to hurt you. You probably already know. The Elder One is leading them." The boy whirls, gestures to a ridge in the distance. A tall figure looms there. "He's very angry you took his mages."

"Samson," Cullen breathes next to Revas. "The man in the armor, that's Samson." The Commander pulls in a steadying breath. "Herald, we may yet stand a chance. If we use the trebuchets, pull the mountain down around them..."

"Yes," the strange boy says, his rapid nodding causing the brim of his hat to flop wildly. 

"Revas!" Dorian comes sprinting out of Haven to skid to a stop next to the elf. "Please tell me you have a plan." 

"Cullen says trebuchets," Revas answers him. "You," he addresses the stranger. "Can you help?" Nod. "Good, come with me. Dorian, is anyone else coming?"

"Cassandra wants us to wait. I think she went to find Blackwall.”

“Can we wait?” Revas frets. Cullen shakes his head. “I didn’t think so. Commander, send them to us when they get here.” The elf dashes off, bare feet whispering over the the path, lightning creating an aura around him. Dorian and the stranger are steps behind.

“Maker guide them,” Cullen prays, and settles in to wait.  
✧✧✧

Revas is thrown back when the trebuchet explodes, flying into the corpse of the Behemoth his party just defeated. Cassandra pulls the dazed elf to his feet and drags him along, heading back to Haven as quickly as possible. Cullen is at the gates, yelling for people the head for the Chantry. 

“People,” Revas slurs slightly. The world is fuzzy at the edges. “The people, we have to…”

“They are being helped,” the strange rogue insists. “You need a healer.”

“ _Mamae_ ,” Revas says. “ _Mamae_ is a healer. I’m gonna…” He heaves, throwing up. It just misses Cassandra’s boots. “ _Abelas_.”

“Concussion,” Blackwall comments. “Get him the the Chantry.”

Revas blacks out for a moment; he doesn’t remember reaching the Chantry, but he is aware of warm, familiar magic soothing his headache. “There, _da’len_ , look at me,” and he does. His mother's eyes fill his vision. “Ah, yes, there you are. Can you focus now? Follow my finger with your eyes.” 

Dalish gives him a clean bill of health and steps back, letting Cullen into Revas’s field of vision. “Herald, the dragon took back any time you may have bought us, but there’s a chance. If we bring down the mountain onto them-”

“They’ve overrun Haven,” Revas whispers. “We’ll be buried with them.”

“We’re dying, but we can chose how,” Cullen tells him. “Not many have that option.”

“No. No, there has to be some way… Some way the get the villagers out. They’re not soldiers. And there’s children here!” He shoots a stricken look at the children clustered at the back of the Chantry. He knows he’s crying, he’s so so afraid, but these people have to get out. 

They’re _ara’vhen_ , “My People”, he thinks. I am their Keeper, and they are trusting me with their lives. I won’t fail them.

I can’t fail them.

“Herald,” he hears some rasp, and he turns. Roderick, the Chancellor that wanted him dead, is there, supported by the rogue from before. “There is a way. A path. One would have had to make the Summer Pilgrimage, as I have. To be the only one who remembers… Andraste must have shown me.” There’s blood on his robes, too much blood, and Revas knows the man is going to die. The elf sobs out a thank you.

“Cullen,” he chokes out. “If I buy a little more time, can you get them out? All of them?”

“I’ll do my best. Herald, what are you-” 

Revas holds up a hand to cut him off. “Just get them out, Commander. Please.”

“No.” Dalish grabs Revas’s arm. “No, Revas, _ma da’len_ , don’t… I cannot lose you too.” And Revas knows what she means. His father is dead, has been since before Revas was born, and it hurts to be leaving her, but he doesn’t have a choice. She’s crying, too, and Revas’s heart breaks.

“ _Ir abelas, Mamae_ ,” he says. “I will try my hardest to survive, but I can’t promise.” He throws his arms around her. 

“You come back,” Dalish orders, breath stuttering. “You come back or I will find Falon’Din and make him give you back, you understand?”

“Yes, _Mamae_ ,” he answers. 

“I was wrong,” she says. “Mythal was a good choice. She is a protector. I pray she will protect you.”  
✧✧✧

Revas runs. He runs like Fen'Harel himself is at his heels. He summons a storm around him, letting it protect him while he aims the trebuchet. He holds that storm until he doesn't have mana left to feed it as he reaches to fire.

The dragon sails overhead to land behind him and it growls, low and dangerous. A figure, twisted and grotesque, steps from its shadow.

"You toy with forces beyond your ken, elf. No more."

"Ken. That's a funny word." Revas keeps his eyes on the dragon. "You look like someone hurt you."

"You shout aimlessly into the darkness. I have seen the throne of the gods, and it is empty. I would give this world the nation and god it requires. You will kneel before the will that is Corypheus."

"I have my gods, and I'm pretty okay with them," Revas answers, inching towards the trebuchet's release. The Mark flares suddenly.

"You," Corypheus hisses. "You interrupted a ritual years in the making and now have the gall to undo its work." He lifts a hand holding a ornately carved orb. It glows red, and the Mark shines brighter.

Pain burns up Revas's arm and he screams. "Take it! I never wanted it!" He leaps from the platform- if he's going to die, he's going to die fighting, like his father- but Corypheus catches his wrist easily, holding him above the ground.

"The Anchor is permanent. You have spoiled it with your flailing. I must start over. You will die; I will not suffer a rival, even an unknowing one." He tosses Revas carelessly aside.

The elf's breath is knocked out of him as his back slams into the trebuchet. He snatches up a sword and points it at the blighted creature. 

In the distance, a flare goes up.

"You know, I promised someone I'd come back." Revas smiles sadly. "I guess I won't."

He kicks the release.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ma nehn- My joy
> 
> Ir hara- I took a few liberties. "Ir" is very/much, and used in "ir abelas" to translate roughly to "I'm very sorry." "Hara" is "to fear". Most literally, this means "I fear much." I'm translating it to "I'm very afraid."


	5. The Dawn Will Come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Skyhold. Cole.
> 
> Revas does not want.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah. So... 
> 
> *tosses self into trash*

It's the cold, cutting through wool and leather to the thin body below, that wakes him. He shivers. 

_You come back._

He doesn't know who said it, but it's important. He has to go back. He promised.

It's cold, bitterly so, but he can feel his fingers and toes and ears well enough. There's a flicker in his belly he associates with his mana, so he isn't defenseless. 

Haven, he remembers. Haven was attacked, but they got out, he saw the flare just before he pulled the mountain down on-

_... The will that is Corypheus..._

_...ma da'len..._

"I'm coming, _Mamae_ ," Revas croaks. "I kept my promise, I survived, I'm coming. Elgar'nan, please help me get to her." He pushes to his feet, standing unsteadily. One foot, then the other. He takes two steps, falls, gets back up. 

He has a promise to keep.  
✧✧✧

He wakes again to warmth, the past hours a blur, an Elvhen lullaby in his ears. " _Mamae_?" he croaks.

"Here. You came back."

"I promised."

"You didn't. You told me you couldn't." Thin fingers brush through his hair.

"I promised myself." He leans into the touch. "I'm tired."

"Then sleep."  
✧✧✧

When he wakes the third time, it's to arguing. The voices aren't coherent, not yet, but he knows the tone. His mother is still stroking his hair.

"They've been at it for hours," Dalish whispers.

"They have that luxury, thanks to your son." The voice is a bit harder to place, but he does it: Mother Giselle. "And they are frightened. They saw their defender stand, and fall. Now, he has returned to us."

"He didn't die!" Dalish counters, harsh and fierce. Her fingertips press against Revas's scalp.

"I did not say he did. But faith can cause one to believe many things."

Revas toys with the idea of sinking back into the warm darkness at the edge of his thoughts, but decides against it. It's a struggle to open his eyes, but familiar green _vallaslin_ greets him. 

"Don't even think about it," Dalish threatens. "Don't smile at me. You are not getting up."

"I need to," Revas rasps. "If they're fighting..."

"One more angry voice will not help," Mother Giselle soothes. 

Revas smiles crookedly. "I was hoping a happy one might."

Dalish utters a choked laugh. "Just like your father, but with my stubbornness. Elgar'nan help us, what did I bring into the world?" The corners of her eyes crinkle with mirth. "Go, then. You have an hour before I drag you back here."

Revas stands carefully. On the cot, he knew what had to be done, but when his feet touch the snow… The will drains out of him.

That’s when the singing starts.  
✧✧✧

Skyhold is huge, but between Revas's near-death experience and Solas's theory about Corypheus's orb, the elf is a bit too overwhelmed to properly be in awe. Instead, he picks the elfroot growing all over the courtyard for the healers to use. Many soldiers did not survive the journey through the Frostbacks. He feels each loss heavy in his heart.

And more people are coming. More people for him to fail, to die for a Herald that must be a sham. How can he be divine if he couldn’t save them?

A hand settles on his shoulder, and he looks up at Cassandra. She smiles at him, and his stomach flips and fills with butterflies. “Skyhold is becoming a pilgrimage,” she says, crouching next to him. He returns to his elfroot, but nods for her to continue. She does. “More arrive every day, but if they know, so must Corypheus.We have the walls and numbers to put up a fight here, but this war is far beyond what we anticipated. But, we now know what allowed you to stand against Corypheus, what drew him to you.”

“This… thing.” Revas has wrapped his left hand in a length of bandage, and he glares at it. “He came for it, but now it’s useless to him, so he wants me dead. That’s it.”

Cassandra squeezes his shoulder gently. “The Anchor has power, but it’s not why you’re still standing. Your decisions let us heal the sky. You sacrifice bought time for our escape, and your determination led us here. You are the creature’s rival because of what you did, and we know it.” Her voice drops into a softer tone. “The Inquisition requires a leader. The one who has already been leading it.”

Revas feels like he’s been caught in a Winter’s Grasp. “No. No, I… I can’t. People are dead because of me, it’s my fault. I can’t lead them.”

“You can,” Cassandra assures. “Many more would have died if not for your willingness to sacrifice yourself, and the people know it. And you will not be alone. You have Cullen, Josephine, and Leliana. And you have me.”

His hands shake, but he nods. “I don’t know what to do. I’ll need a lot of help.” He stands on wobbly feet. “What do I do?”  
✧✧✧

Revas needs to find the rogue from Haven. He hasn’t seen the stranger for the entire journey, and he hunts for him now. He probably shouldn’t, there’s so much to do now that he’s Inquisitor, but it seems a simple enough task. He needs simple. He spots Cassandra, Solas, and Vivienne arguing in the lower courtyard and heads for them.

“It is not a stray puppy you keep,” Vivienne is saying to Solas.

“Did we get a puppy?” Revas asks. “Because I don’t think I can take care of a puppy right now.”

“The young man from Haven is a demon,” Vivienne spits at Solas.

Solas shakes his head. “Cole’s nature is not so easily defined.” He directs his attention to Revas. “The rogue that warned us, Cole, is a spirit.”

“I thought perhaps he was a mage, given his abilities,” Cassandra adds.

Solas explains further when Revas just looks confused. “He can cause people to fail to notice him, or forget him entirely. He also has the appearance of a young man, without possessing a host.”

“He helped us; he can stay,” Revas says. “No, Vivienne. If he becomes a danger, I’ll send him away, but he has done nothing yet. If I sent away everyone capable of causing harm, we wouldn’t have an Inquisition. I don’t wanna argue. He’s not possessing anyone and he saved our lives.” He waves them off. “Just don’t, okay? That’s my choice. I’m not making anyone stay. You don’t have to talk to him, and I won’t bring you out on missions together if you don’t want. I need to check with Cullen and requisitions and Bull wanted to see me and I don’t have time for this. Cole stays.” Revas turns and yelps. The spirit is right behind him.

“I can stay?” Cole whispers, soft and hopeful. “You want me to, even though I’m a demon?”

Revas blinks. Now that no one is trying to kill him, he can actually sense the Fade in this boy. “Yes. Demons don’t help, so you must not be a demon. Just stay out of trouble. Or try to. A little trouble isn’t too bad.” He smiles. It’s a weary, drawn thing, but the smile Cole gives him in return is innocent and genuine, and Revas finds his next breath a little easier. 

“I helped,” Cole chirps happily, and Revas finds himself laughing for the first time since Haven.  
✧✧✧

That night, Revas doesn’t bother finding his quarters. He curls up against his mother’s chest, lulled by the even, sleepy snuffles of the other Chargers. “It’s hard, _Mamae_. I don't want to lead anything.”

“I know, but we’ll get through this.” Dalish hums a lullaby Revas remembers and lets him cry.


	6. Snowdrops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Revas has a huge crush. He finally acts on it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The last two chapters hurt me, so have a fluff.

Revas peeks around the entrance to Skyhold’s main hall, leaning until he can see the practice yards. Cassandra is there, even this early in the morning. She attacks the training dummy with a fury that makes the storm of his mana hum. She’s a force of nature, and Revas’s crush on her has been steadily growing. He’s been entertaining the idea bringing her lunch for days now.

“ _Da’len_?”

“Shh!” Revas whirls and puts his hand over Dalish’s mouth. “She’ll hear you.”

“From the practice yard? _Nehn_ , you’re being ridiculous. Talk to her.”

“She’s human!” Revas’s voice shoots up at least an octave. “She’s human and beautiful and, and, and-”

“Revas,” Dalish cuts him off. “Sylaise, you’re as bad as your father. He never could get the courage to talk to me, so he filled my aravel with flowers.” She sees her son's expression. "Oh no. Revas, no."

"It's a good idea."

Dalish throws her hands in the air and doesn't stop him.  
✧✧✧

There's a field of snowdrops not far from Skyhold, and Revas fills the biggest basket he can find with the the tiny white flowers. He scatters the blossoms around Cassandra's room, goes back for another basketful.

He ends up slipping out the window to avoid getting caught, but the small, pleased gasp he hears makes it worth it.

He tucks a bouquet of brightly colored wildflowers into her washing, puts a wreath Arbor Blessing on the head of her training dummy, falls back on the snowdrops and has a bundle sent with her dinner.

He's slipping a dawn lotus bloom into one of her books when he's caught, but not by Cassandra. Leliana just tells him Cassandra's favorite flowers are forget-me-nots, and the spymaster has ordered some from Val Royeaux. Revas shakes his head and says, "snowdrops."

Cassandra finds him weaving another wreath two days after that, stringing together more snowdrops and some pale blue wildflowers.

"Are... You leaving these?" She holds up a bell of Crystal Grace.

Revas smiles shyly. "I don't know how to court shems." He shows her the finished wreath. She smiles back at him, just as shyly, and sits across from him. There's unused flowers between, and she picks up one of the blue ones and reaches to tuck it behind one of his ears. He settles the wreath in her hair.

"I... Have enjoyed your gifts." Cassandra drops her gaze and flushes delicately. She's beautiful, Revas thinks, and leans forward to kiss the long scar on her cheek before he can stop himself.

"I've never done this before," he admits. "There's a boy back in my clan I've kissed, but you're... Different. I like making you smile. You... My stomach gets fluttery when you talk to me and I feel stupid when you laugh and my heart beats really fast when you touch me."

She stretches out a hand and tentatively traces the _vallaslin_ on his cheekbones and brow with her fingertips, feels the crinkles at the corner of his eye when he smiles.

"Cassandra," Revas whispers. "Can I kiss you?" She nods, and Revas gently presses his lips to hers. It's quick and chaste, and warmth blooms in the elf's chest. "That's all I wanted."   
✧✧✧

Cassandra kisses him in the tavern the next day, surprising him as he comes down from visiting Sera. There's cheering and Dalish calls out a threat, but Revas beams bright as the sun and rocks onto his toes to kiss the end of her nose.

She has snowdrops braided in her hair.


	7. Rift in the Lake Part 1

Revas is shivering long before they reach the outpost outside Crestwood. The leather of his armor clings to his skin, and his hands are shaking bad enough Ara, his horse, keeps snorting in concern. Revas pats the mare's neck reassuringly and sniffles.

"Are you well?" Cassandra asks, riding next to him.

"I'm fine," Revas answers, voice nasal from phlegm. He's not, not really, with each breath rattling in his lungs and wheezing on the exhale, but he’s the only one who can close the fade rifts and he knows it. The people of Crestwood need him- he can see the green light shining in the water of the lake. “I have to be.”

No one argues that.  
✧✧✧

Of course there’s undead. Revas can’t just be sick, there has to be corpses crawling out of the lake terrorizing villagers. He’s coughing hard enough only half his spells hit their mark, and his mana is slow to recharge. Sera shoves a waterskin full of honeyed mead into his hands and tells him to drink. Blackwall tells him that’s not the best idea. Revas takes a few sips to appease them both. The mead makes him feel warmer, at least.

“Should we hire a boat?” the elf asks. “To get to the rift.”

“It’s underwater, innit?” Sera comments. “And last I checked, not even elfy elves can breathe water.”

“What if we drain the lake?” Cassandra suggests.

Sera scoffs. “How we gonna do that? Can’t hit it with a sword.”

“The dam.” Blackwall points out the structure, hazy from rain and distance. “Perhaps someone in the village knows how to drain it? Revas needs to see a healer, anyway.”

“I’m fine,” Revas protests, and sneezes four times in quick succession. 

“You’re really not, lad,” Blackwall says. “I’ve seen sniffles like this turn into pneumonia far too easily. And something tells me you have, as well.”

Revas shakes his head. “I have to be okay. Someone has to help these people, and soon. I’ll be sick after the rift is closed, and I’ll let you fuss all you want then, but-”

“No,” Cassandra cuts him off. “You need to have this treated. If you fall ill, worse than you are, everyone suffers.”

Revas shoots Sera a pleading look, but she shakes her head. “We need a livin’ hero, Quizzie. Also, you’re a bit pathetic when you sniffle. Not very awe-inspiring.”

“ _Harellanen_ , all of you,” Revas sighs, but his voice is affectionate. He squints. “I see people. We shouldn’t be at the village for a few more minutes, right?”

They clear another knot of corpses upon reaching the figures, and even Revas recognizes the griffons on their armor. “Grey Wardens,” he breathes, awed. “Can you help the village? I’m Inquisition, but our resources are stretched thin. I know the Blight is over, but we need…” He trails off as one of the Wardens shakes his head. “Why not?”

“We have our orders,” the one who had shaken his head apologizes. 

His companion shuffles his feet. “Ser, are you sure we can’t help the village?”

The first Warden shakes his head. “You know our orders. If we can’t find Ser Stroud, we are to return to Commander Clarel with all haste.” He shifts uncomfortably himself. “Inquisitor, yes? Try Vigil’s Keep, in Amaranthine. Commander Tabris’s second, Nathaniel Howe, may work with you.”

“ _Ma serannas_ ,” Revas tells them, shoulders slumping. 

“That’s shite!” Sera seethes once the Wardens are out of earshot. “Wardens are supposed to do something when the world falls to shit, not… whatever that was. There’s a friggin’ archdemon! That’s Warden business!” She huffs. “At least one Warden is still decent sort.” 

“Sera, _lethallan_... You look up to them, don’t you?” Revas rubs his nose with his sleeve, looking at Sera with open curiosity and warmth.

“I was in Denerim when Warden Tabris came through. I was even in the same alienage as her. If some “knife-ear” can stop a Blight… She’s like me, yeah? And the Wardens made her bigger, but she don’t act bigger. That’s how a Warden should be. Not all… Disappearing right when we need ‘em.” Sera shakes her head as though to clear it. “Wazzat ‘lethy’ thing mean?”

Revas cocks his head slightly. “ _Lethallan_? Uh… My friend or kinswoman. I know you don’t like Solas speaking in _Elvhen_ to you. I can stop.”

“Nah. You aren’t all priggish ‘bout it. Never treated me less’n you.” The elven rogue nocks an arrow. “More corpses. Don’t miss so much this time, yeah?”  
✧✧✧

Sera and Revas huddle in front of the fire burning cheerily in Crestwood’s inn while Cassandra and Blackwall barter for a room. Revas clutches a mug of peppermint and elderberry tea with both hands, sipping it occasionally. The local healer had taken one look at him before tossing a herbal packet at Blackwall, gruffly explaining such sniffles had been common lately. 

Revas thought he may have overpaid with the small handful of silvers he’d given the woman, but he didn’t use the money anyway.

Sera bristles as another villager coughs ‘knife-ear’ into their mug, but Revas flat-out flinches. He’s never been called that before the Inquisition, and the slur still stings. “Ignore ‘em,” Sera mutters darkly. “Friggin’ arseholes’ll be singing your praises when we get that rift handled.”

“Watch,” Revas whispers to her, and freezes the biggest offender’s ale with a flick of his wrist.

Sera snorts as the man starts swearing in confusion. “Never seen a magey type prank before. Thought that was beneath you. Most mages in the Inquisition keep to themselves.”

“They’re told their magic is bad. A sin on your Maker. I grew up using my magic to protect my clan, keep them warm and fed and happy. Sometimes that meant having a bit of fun: freezing drinks, leaves in clothes and quivers, lights in the trees. Nothing to hurt someone, but to make them smile or realize they upset someone.”

“Jus… Not on me, yeah?”

“It upsets you. If I think you need cheered up, I’ll do something without magic.”

“Like teach me to swear in elf so I can bother Solas?”

“Is that what you want?” Revas giggles into his tea when Sera nods. “I’ll remember that.”

Sera believes he means it.  
✧✧✧

Caer Bronach feels looming and oppressive, and Revas hesitates outside. Cassandra murmurs his name, and he shakes off the feeling and throws a fireball at the keep’s gate, following it with an energy barrage. The gate splinters, and they charge the bandits within. The renegades are grossly outmatched, and Revas is helping Blackwall hoist and Inquisition flag within the hour.

Cassandra fusses over a cut the Dalish received from a rogue before he caught the bandit on his staff blade. He presses a kiss to her cheek after she ties off the bandage, softly sighing “ _ma vhenan_ ”. Sera mimes gagging.  
✧✧✧

Revas chatters incessantly as they pick their way across the lakebed. Sera turns to snap at him and notices the sparks dancing over his fingertips. He's nervous, she realizes. 

"What's eatin' ya, Quizzie?" the archer asks. She rubs unconsciously at her arms; her skin is crawling.

Revas smiles, a mirthless, ugly thing. "Something here is very wrong. The Veil is thin, but not from the rift. Something happened here, something awful. My spirits don't want to be here." Sera arches a brow, so he explains. "I draw my magic from spirits of Joy. They fled when we reached to fort. They've never left me like that. Even you can feel it." 

The appearance of the first wisp startles them, an arrow and a bolt of lightning passing through the Fade being harmlessly. Revas giggles nigh hysterically for several minutes, and arcs of electricity keep his companions at bay. Cassandra drags them back to the keep, already swarming with Inquisition scouts and soldiers, and Scout Harding brews the small mage some chamomile tea to settle his nerves.

It helps with some lingering congestion as an added bonus.

The rest of his Inner Circle has gathered, and Dalish immediately begins fussing over her son, wrapping him in no less than three blankets. She informs the Iron Bull that she will be accompanying Revas to the rift. All protestations are duly ignored. 

"I'm not surprised there's a rift down there," Revas admits. "The Veil is very thin because of a lot of emotion, probably from when it flooded. Solas, do you think we can move one of those elvhen artifacts down there? I'm worried more rifts might form."

"I don't believe any rifts have formed since you closed the Breach, but we can look into it," the other elf says. 

Revas nods and snuggles further under his blankets. He's calmer now, away from the lake, and the fear and despair that lingered at the keep was already being overshadowed by the emotions of the Inquisition. He’s warm, his tea is soothing, his mother is humming a lullaby he remembers, Varric is muttering to himself nearby, and everything feels better than it has since he got to Crestwood.

He sleeps.

**Author's Note:**

> Emma nuvenin halani- I want to help. Emma nuvenin is "my wish/my need/my desire" and halani is "help". More lit. "My desire is to help."


End file.
